UW-Madison ranked as big spender, fire displaces 30 students, and even more on budgets

Gov. Jim Doyle announces plans to spend $500,000 to tell people about the new BadgerCare Plus program. Starting Feb. 1, children of any age or income level will be eligible for health care coverage. Families, depending on income, will pay between $10 and $68.52 per child a month. A family of four earning under $20,420 can enroll their children at no cost.

Former Madison child-care provider Debra Koenig, 45, receives a four-and-a-half year prison sentence followed by five years extended supervision for kicking a toddler in the stomach, causing near-fatal injuries.

Friday 11.09

The National Science Foundation ranks UW-Madison as the nation's top public university for research spending. The university, which topped $900 million in 2006, moves up to No. 2 behind John Hopkins University.

Ee Lee of Madison is found mentally incompetent and is sent to a mental institution before her trial begins. Lee, 23, is charged with killing her infant daughter after torturing her for weeks. The February trial will be put on hold.

The Capital Times reports that a Dane County committee struck a deal on Wednesday that largely resolved a standoff over courthouse policy reported by the paper in a breathless article on Thursday. Oops.

Gov. Jim Doyle names Jack Fischer as the new state secretary of commerce. Fischer, who succeeds Mary Burke, will begin on Nov. 26.

Saturday 11.10

A fire at a seven-story apartment building off State Street leaves 30 students homeless. The sixth floor sustains the most damage in the building on North Carroll Street. Students are receiving $500 "crisis loan checks" to help replace school supplies damaged in the blaze.

Monday 11.12

The Dane County Board approves a $460 million budget for 2008 after a three-hour debate on whether the Sheriff's Office should add more deputies. Supv. Mike Hanson's plan to add 12 sheriff's deputies is defeated by a 20-15 vote.

Tuesday 11.13

Jose Esteban Ruiz, 21, of Madison, appears in court in California on charges of assaulting a federal officer during an immigration protest. Ruiz's supporters say federal agents beat him at the U.S.-Mexico border after he bumped into an officer while dancing and playing the bongos.

Wednesday 11.14

The state Senate Ethics Reform and Government Operations Committee votes 4-0 in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment to rein in the governor's "Frankenstein" veto power. The amendment must yet be approved by the full Senate before going to voters next year.